Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Detroit Tigers enter Tuesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays with a 66-56 record, second in the American League East. The Tigers have struggled of late, losers of nine out of their last 14 games. At 22nd in the league in staff ERA, the Tigers' offense has had to carry much of the load. On the injury front, it appears outfielder Andy Dirks may miss the rest of the season, which would mean a totally lost season for Dirks.

Our own Ryan O'Rourke reported on August 16 that Dirks, who hasn't played this season, was set to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday for Triple-A Toledo.

James Schmehl, who covers the Tigers for MLive Media Group, tweeted the following status update on Dirks.

Certainly not set in stone, but Brad Ausmus confirmed it's going to be very tough for Andy Dirks to return after suffering another setback.
— James Schmehl (@jamesschmehl) August 19, 2014

Dirks, in his third Major League season,
is batting .256 with nine home runs and 37 RBI this season. Last season,
he batted .322 with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 88 games. In 297
career games, Dirks is batting .276 with 24 home runs and 100 RBI